Recently, the new term "lamellar hole-associated epiretinal proliferation" was introduced to describe a specific epiretinal proliferation. Different from conventional epimacular retinal membrane, lamellar hole-associated epiretinal proliferation (LHEP) can be found around the edge of lamellar macular holes and part of full thickness macular holes. It is defined as a thick homogenous layer of yellowish material without any contractive properties on the epiretinal surface with medium reflectivity on optical coherence tomography images. Immunocytochemical analysis showed the presence of glial cells, fibroblasts, hyalocytes and collagen type Ⅱ. Electron microscopy revealed fibroblasts and hyalocytes as predominant cell types, densely packed in cell agglomerations. LHEP is a secondary event in lamellar macular hole formation and may represent a repair process after large and deep retinal defect. Further studies on its clinical features and clinical significance are still required.
ObjectiveTo investigate the association of preoperative serum uric acid (UA) levels with postoperative prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) in patients undergoing mechanical heart valve replacement.MethodsClinical data of 311 patients undergoing mechanical heart valve replacement in The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2017 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 164 males at age of 55.6±11.4 years and 147 females at age of 54.2±9.8 years. The patients were divided into a PMV group (>48 h) and a control group according to whether the duration of PMV was longer than 48 hours. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and logistic regression analysis were conducted to evaluate the relationship between preoperative UA and postoperative PMV. The predictive value of UA for PMV was undertaken using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve..ResultsAmong 311 patients, 38 (12.2%) developed postoperative PMV. Preoperative serum UA level mean values were 6.11±1.94 mg/dl, while the mean UA concentration in the PMV group was significantly higher than that in the control group (7.48±2.24 mg/dl vs. 5.92±1.82 mg/dl, P<0.001). Rank correlation analysis showed that UA was positively correlated with postoperative PMV (rs=0.205, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that preoperative elevated UA was associated independently with postoperative PMV with odds ratio (OR)=1.44 and confidence interval (CI) 1.15–1.81 (P=0.002). The area under the ROC curve of UA predicting PMV was 0.72, 95% CI0.635–0.806, 6.40 mg/dl was the optimal cut-off value, and the sensitivity and specificity was 76.3% and 63.0% at this time, respectively.ConclusionPreoperative elevated serum UA is an independent risk factor for postoperative PMV in patients undergoing mechanical heart valve replacement and has a good predictive value.
Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a significant metabolic bone disease triggered by estrogen deficiency. Macrophages, as pivotal cells in bone metabolism regulation, participate in bone remodeling and inflammatory modulation through differentiation into osteoclasts and polarization phenotype switching. This article systematically reviews the mechanistic roles of macrophages in PMOP, encompassing their interactions with osteoclasts, polarization effects, immune-inflammatory responses, and impacts of oxidative stress. Furthermore, it explores the potential applications of macrophages in molecular diagnosis and pharmacological interventions for PMOP, while proposing future research directions.
ObjectiveTo measure L1-L5 lumbar isthmus thickness and to construct Chinese adult male lumbar (L1-L5) 3D model by Micro CT 3D reconstruction technique, in order to provide micro-anatomical data for clinical treatment of L1-L5 lumbar spondylolysis. MethodsDry, non-damaged specimens of L1-L5 lumbar isthmus from 60 Chinese adult males were randomly selected from September 2013 to January 2014. Micro CT scanning was carried out, followed by corresponding 3D model construction. The microscopic anatomical parameters such as superior, inferior, inner and outer edge thickness of left and right L1-L5 lumbar isthmus were measured. ResultsL1-L5 lumbar isthmus superior edge thickness was in the order of L1> L2> L3> L5> L4, with the variation ranging from (4.31±0.95) mm to (4.88±0.75) mm. L1-L5 lumbar isthmus inferior edge thickness was in the order of L1< L2< L3< L4< L5, gradually thickened with the variation ranging from (6.03±1.01) mm to (7.27±1.27) mm. L1-L5 lumbar isthmus inner edge thickness amplitude was not obvious, ranging from (6.33±1.21) mm to (6.57±1.27) mm. L1-L5 lumbar isthmus outer edge thickness was in the order of L1< L2< L3< L4< L5, gradually thickened with the variation ranging from (8.44±1.21) mm to (10.27±1.28) mm. ConclusionThere are certain rules within superior, inferior, inner and outer edge thickness of adult L1-L5 lumbar isthmus:the inferior and outer edge thickness of L1-L5 lumbar isthmus gradually becomes thicker, while superior edge gradually becomes thinner. From L1 to L5 lumbar isthmus, the outer edge of the lumbar isthmus is the thickest, followed by inner and inferior edge, and the upper edge is the thinnest.
ObjectiveTo investigate the role of Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) mediated monocyte/macrophage subtype switch in the pathological progression of pulmonary fibrosis.MethodsThirty-six patients with interstitial pneumonia were recruited from Characteristic Medical Center of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force between May 2015 and January 2017. Peripheral venous blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected in the morning. Pulmonary function and arterial blood gas were tested after admission. Flow cytometry was used to test monocyte subtypes of peripheral blood and macrophage subtypes of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. KLF4 of peripheral blood was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Thirty normal subjects were selected as control group of peripheral blood mononuclear cell subtypes and KLF4 (control group A), and 10 patients without pulmonary fibrosis who needed bronchoscopy were selected as control group of macrophage subtypes in alveolar lavage fluid (control group B). The relationship between the expression of KLF4 and the differentiation of monocytes and macrophages were observed. Furthermore, the relationship between the differentiation of monocytes subtypes, macrophages subtypes and lung function were observed.ResultsMonocyte of CD14++CD16– subtype in pulmonary fibrosis group was significantly lower than that in control group A (P<0.05). Monocyte of CD14++CD16+ subtype in pulmonary fibrosis group was significantly higher than that in control group A (P<0.05). No significant difference was found between the two groups regarding CD14+CD16++. No correlation was found between three subtypes of monocyte and DLCO of patients and between three subtypes of monocyte and PaO2 of patients. M1 macrophage in pulmonary fibrosis group was significantly lower than that in control group B (P<0.05). M2 macrophage in pulmonary fibrosis group was significantly higher than that in control group B (P<0.05). Negative correlation was found between the ratio of M2 subtypes and DLCO of patients and between the ratio of M2 subtypes and PaO2 of patients (P<0.05). KLF4 protein of blood in pulmonary fibrosis group was significantly higher than that in control group A (P<0.05). Positive correlation was found between the ratio of M2 subtypes and KLF4 protein (P<0.05).ConclusionsCD16+ monocyte plays a role in the occurrence and development of pulmonary fibrosis, but no evidence is found there is a direct correlation between monocyte subtypes of peripheral blood and fibrosis degree of lung tissue. M2 macrophage subtype plays an important role in the development of interstitial pneumonia. The number of M2 macrophages is positively correlated with the severity of pulmonary fibrosis. Monocyte/macrophage subtype differentiation by KLF4 may play a role in the pathological progression of pulmonary fibrosis.
ObjectiveTo analyze clinical features and treatment of cases of perineum necrotizing fasciitis with diabetes.MethodsThe clinical data of 48 cases of perineum necrotizing fasciitis with diabetes were retrospectively collected in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 2013 to 2017. The clinical features, bacterial culture results, and laboratory indicators such as the white blood cell count (WBC), platelet (PLT), C reactive protein (CRP), serum sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and blood sugar (Glu) levels were compared between the diabetic patients and the non-diabetic patients and between the death and the survival.ResultsAmong the 48 cases, there were 29 cases of perineum necrotizing fasciitis with diabetes, 10 cases of death, 36 cases of positive results of bacterial culture. ① Between the diabetic patients and the non-diabetic patients, the proportions of the gender, surgery within 24 h, staying the ICU, and death had no significant differences (P>0.05); the age, time from onset to admission, and staying time in the ICU had no significant differences too (P>0.05). The Klebsiella infection rate in the diabetic patients was significantly higher than that in the non-diabetic patients (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the CRP, WBC, PLT, Ca2+, Na+, and K+ levels between the diabetic patients and the non-diabetic patients on the 1st, the 3rd, and the 7th day of the admission (P>0.05). ② The proportions of the gender and surgery within 24 h had no significant differences (P>0.05), but of staying the ICU had a significant difference (P<0.05) between the death and the survival; the age, the time from onset to admission, and staying time in the ICU had no significant differences (P>0.05). The positive rate of bacterial culture results had no significant difference between the death and the survival (P>0.05). Except for the PLT (P<0.05), there were no significant differences in the CRP, WBC, and Glu levels between the death and the survival on the 1st and 3rd day of the admission (P>0.05).ConclusionsEarly diagnosis, early operation, and multidisciplinary treatment are important in treatment of perineum necrotizing fasciitis. Antibiotics which are sensitive to Klebsiella when treated with early experimental use should be considered for patients with diabetes mellitus.
ObjectiveTo investigate the role of preoperative peripheral blood CD4/CD8 ratio in predicting the prognosis of patients with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAD) after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG).MethodsA total of 118 patients with CAD who underwent OPCABG in our hospital from September 2016 to April 2017 were included in the study, including 82 males and 36 females aged 62.74±4.50 years. The primary end point was the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Patients were divided into a high CD4/CD8 group (≥1.40, 62 patients) and a low CD4/CD8 group (<1.40, 56 patients) according to the results of flow cytometry. The correlation between CD4/CD8 ratio and prognosis of patients after OPCABG and the value of CD4/CD8 ratio for predicting postoperative MACE were evaluated.ResultsMedian duration of follow-up was 23.25 (20.91, 24.70) months, during which 21 patients (17.80%) experienced MACE and 4 patients (3.39%) were lost to follow-up. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high CD4/CD8 group had a significantly higher MACE rate than the low CD4/CD8 group did (log-rank χ2=5.797, P=0.02). The results of adjusted Cox proportional hazards model showed that CD4/CD8 ratio (HR=3.103, 95%CI 1.557-6.187, P<0.01) was an independent risk factor of MACE in patients with CAD after OPCABG. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that area under curve was 0.778 (95%CI 0.661-0.894, P<0.01), the optimal cut off value was 2.24, the sensitivity was 57.1%, and the specificity was 87.6%.ConclusionPreoperative peripheral blood CD4/CD8 ratio is an independent predictor of MACE after OPCABG in patients with CAD.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is easily submerged in noise of the complex environment during remote medical treatment, and this affects the intelligent diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Considering this situation, this paper proposes an echo state network (ESN) denoising algorithm based on recursive least square (RLS) for ECG signals. The algorithm trains the ESN through the RLS method, and can automatically learn the deep nonlinear and differentiated characteristics in the noisy ECG data, and then the network can use these characteristic to separate out clear ECG signals automatically. In the experiment, the proposed method is compared with the wavelet transform with subband dependent threshold and the S-transform method by evaluating the signal-to-noise ratio and root mean square error. Experimental results show that the denoising accuracy is better and the low frequency component of the signal is well preserved. This method can effectively filter out complex noise and effectively preserve the effective information of ECG signals, which lays a foundation for the recognition of ECG signal feature waveform and the intelligent diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.